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7 LI &V r x E 1 May 26, 1931. H. F. BUSCH BOTTLE CLOSURE AND 11's MANUFACTURE Filed Aug. 18, 1926 Patented May 26, 19,31

UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE HERMAN F. BUSC'H, OF MILLVALE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ARMSTRONG CORK COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA BOTTLE CLOSURE AND ITS MANUFACTURE Application filed August 18, 1926. Serial No. 129,944.

The present invention relates to bottle closures and their manufacture, and more particularly, to closures of the well known crown seal type.

In crown seals or similar bottle closures, a metal cap is orimped or spun over the mouth of the bottle. The cap has a liner of compressed artificial cork which makes a liquidtight seal with the top of the bottle mouth. In the usual practice of making such closures, a fiat disk of compressed artificial cork is placed in the metal cap. A drop of cement is first placed in the cap, which is heated to liquefy the cement. Then the fiat disk of cork is placed in the cap and held by a plunger in place until the cement has set. This operation involves the cutting out of the disks as a preliminary operation, involving an extra process and waste in forming the disks.

The cord disks which have been used have an initial compression so that the volume of the cork is about one-sixth of the original volume of the uncompressed cork mix used in forming the block or ribbon from which the disks are out. In order to give a sufficiently compressible or resilient seat for the top ofthe bottle mouth, the cork can not be given a much greater initial compression,

since it would make it too hard and unyield-' ing. In forming the flat disks heretofore used as the crown seal liners, the entire area of the disk has the same degree of initial compression. seal is applied, theannulararea of the disk immediately above the lip of the bottle mouth.

is subjected to further compression; but the central area of the disk, which is over the bottle opening, is not compressed, and has only the initial compression given in forming the artificial cork from which the disk is formed. It has been found that this degree of compression is insufiicient to insure impenetrability of the artificial cork liner and the contained liquid in the bottle some- "times penetrates through the central pprtion of the capand corrodes the metal in the center of the seal over the top of the bottle mouth opening.

The present invention relates especially Of course, -when the crown' making a liner,.they might be independently used, for example, as in forming a line in situ, but having the same degree of comparision throughout, or forming a liner disk with the more highly compressed central portion 1 n a separate operation, and afterward securing it in the cap as is the usual present practice in applying the liners to the caps.

The present invention also relates in some of its more limited aspects to the placing of a thin layer of foil orliquid-proof paper over the liner when it is made so as to be formed as a part thereof and keep the contents of; the bottle from contact with the cork, which is sometimes desirable, particularly with liquids which would acquire a corky taste from direct contact with the cork.

In the drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention and the process and apparatus for carrying it out:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a crown seal and tools operating thereon, showmg the operation before the cork mix is compressed Figure 2 is a similar view showing the tools in position to compress the cork mix Figure 3 is a bottom plan View of the crown seal thus formed;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through a bottle neck mouth showing the seal applied;

Figure 5 is a view showing a modification in the process in which a layer ofmetal foil or liquid-proofed paper is applied as a facing for the cork liner; and

Figures 6. and 7 are bottom plan views and sections, respectively, of the crown seal made by the process illustrated in Figure 5.

Referring to the illustrated embodiment of the invention, Figures 1 and 2 show the tools and process used for forming the liner in situ in the closure cap. The process is illustrated as carried out on the. well known crown seal, which is a metal cap with a skirt which is adapted to be crimped over the specially formed lip on the mouth of the bottle. The crown seals have a liner of artificial cork which isput under compression by the crimping of the skirt of the cap so as to form a liquid-tight seal.

While the present invention is illustrated in connection with the crown seal type of bottle closure, which is perhaps the commonest form of bottle closure, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the crown seal type of closure, but may be applied to other types of bottle closures in which a liner of artificial cork is placed in a metal cap which is applied to the mouth of the bottle, either by crimping, spinning or clamping. The termbottle as herein used is intended as a term of general definition to include not only the usual narrow-necked bottles used for crown seals, but also widemouthed bottles, which are commonly known as jars, which are used for packing such things as olives, preserved fruits, etc., which require a large mouth for their removal.

In the illustrated embodiment'of the invention, the metal cap of the crown seal is indicated by reference numeral 1. This metal cap is of thin sheet metal and is indicated in section by the heavy black line in Figures 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7. The crown seal cap 1 has the usual crimped skirt 2, which is adapted to be further crimped and compressed about the lip 3 of the bottle by the usual crown seal-applying machine. Within the recess of the cap is the liner or washer 4 of compressed artificial cork. This liner or washer 4 is formed in situ by compressing and setting a small mass of artificial cork directly in the bottle cap. This operation.is shown in Figures 1 and 2, which show the preferred tools and method for carrying out the operation. A metal cap 1 is held in a support 5. It is clamped in place by a tube 6, having a downwardly projecting fin 7, which covers the crimped skirt of the cap,

to which it is not desired to apply the cork liner. The tube 6 has a central opening 8, in which is placed a mass 9 of the loose uncompressed granular cork mix used for forming the artificial cork liner. The amount of material 9 put in is calculated to give a liner of the proper thickness and degrce of compression.

The cork mix is the usual mix for making compressed artificial cork and consists of cork granules and an elastic binder, usually a glycerine-gelatine binder, with a formaldehyde coagulant, as described, for example,

in my Patents Nos. 1,269,682 of June 18, 1918,

and 1,532,682 of April 7, 1925.

In making the compressed artificial cork, the granular mixture consisting of the cork granules and the binder is compressed and set under heat. The compressed artificial cork after being set under heat forms a resilient liner which is permanently set and does not flow when sub'ected to pressure. It springs back to su stantially its original shape when the pressure is removed. The liner is resilient, as distinguished from a body which flows due to the pressure of the top of the bottle, exerted thereon when the cap is applied to a bottle top as a closure for the bottle. For this purpose, a plunger 10 is provided which enters the tube 8 and compresses the granular cork into the metal cap 1, which serves as a forming die. The plunger 10 may be operated by any suitable mechanical -movement. The bottom of the plunger 10 has a projecting central face 11, which serves to compress the cork more compactly at the center of the liner than near the circumference of the liner where the cork is pressed upon by the annularly recessed face 12 of the plunger 10. As shown in Figure 2, this results in a liner 13, being formed having a thinner, more highly compressed central portion 14:, surrounded by an annular ridge or shoulder 15. The material in the shoulder 15 is compressed to about onesixth of the initial volume of the cork mixture, while the central portion 14 is compressed to double this amount or to about onetwelfth of the volume of the original loose cork mix. While the cork mixture is held under pressure by the plunger 10, heat is applied to set the binder. This is preferably done, as shown in Figure 2, by means of gas jets 16, which direct their flames into the hollow plunger 10, and a gas jet 17, which heats a hot plate 18, from which the heat is radiated to the cap. It is preferable not to apply direct flame to the bottom of the cap, sincethe caps are often ornamented or bear printing which would be damaged by the flame. The cork mixture is kept under heat and pressure for about a minute or less, which is usually suflicient to set the binder; the usual binder being capable of setting at a temperature of about 400 F. in about a minute or less. After the binder is set, the molds are removed from the heat to allow the cap to become somewhat cooled, and then the punger 10 is withdrawn, the clamping tube 6 is lifted, and the finished cap is ejected.

For large scale automatic production, the dies will, of course, be operated by suitable machinery, and the molds will be passed from a filling station to a compressing and heating station, and then to a cooling station, where air is blown into the hollow die 10, and against the bottom of the cap and then to an ejecting station.

The binder in the mixture will serve as the cement for uniting the liner with the cap. The liner will therefore be united with the cap throughout its entire area, thus not only doing away with the necessity of using a separated cement, as is the present practice in applying preformed disks, but securing a more uniform and better adhesion between the liner and the metal.

The completed cap is shown in Figure 3, and in Figure 4 is shown as applied to a bottle. The raised portion 15, which is given the usual amount of compression, will lie over the top of the lipof the bottle mouth and will be given the usual additional compression when the cap is crimped on the bottle. The central or more highly compressed portion 14, because of its greater compression, will be substantially impervious to liquid, and the penetration of liquid through the liner to corrode the metal, which has been encountered with the usual liners, will be obviated.

While it is preferred to form the liner in situ, the liners might be preformed as disks to be applied to the caps in the usual way, in which case, the liner will be an improvement over the present form, in that the highly com ressed central portion will make the liner su stantially impervious to the liquid contents of the bottle 1 While it is preferred to use a compressing plunger, such as is shown in the illustrated embodiment of the invention to more highly compress the central ortion of the liner, liners of uniform thic nessmay be formed by the process of forming the liner in situ, in which case, the advantages of forming the liner in a single operation and cementing it in the cap by its own binder will be attained.

While the compressed artificial cork liner with the consolidated central portion will be suficient to revent penetration of the liquid contents-of the bottle to the metal of the cap, for some purposes, such as bottling mineral water, it is desired to shield the bottle contents from the cork in order to prevent any possibility of a corky taste being imparted to the contents. When this is desired, a facing or shield of metal foil or liquidproofed paper may be applied over the face of the liner. This is preferably done during the formation of the liner in the cap, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings. This operation will be carried out me similar way to that described in connection with Figures 1 and f3, except that a strip 19 of sheet material,

such as tin foil or oiledor wax paper, is fed over the top of the tube 6 and a disk is died out and carried by the plunger 10 in its downward movement. The binder of the cork will serve to firmly cement the foil or paper shield to the face of the cork during the heating operation. A seal with a shield 20 of foil paper or other suitable material is shown in Figures 6 and 7. While l[ have specifically illustrated th preferred'embodiment of my invention and as employed for the making of binders in crown seals, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiment, but may be otherwise embodied Within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle closure comprising a metal cap and a resilient compressed artificial cork liner formed in situ and permanently set therein, the central portion of the liner adapted to register with the opening in a bottle mouth, being more highly compressed than the edge portion adapted to engage the bottle.

2. A bottle closure comprising a metal cap and a compressed artificial cork liner formed in situ and set therein, said liner having an annular ridge of material compressed to a volume of about the volume of the uncompressed cork mix, and a central area more highly compressed than the material in the annular ridge.

3. The process of lining bottle closures comprising placing an artificial cork mix in a metal closure cap, the artificial cork mix containing a binder capable of being set under heat, placing a facing of sheet material over the mix, compressing the mix between the facing and the metal cap and applying an effective amount of heat to set the binder.

4. The process of lining bottle closures comprising placing in a .metal closure cap an artificial cork mix containing cork granules and a bindercapable of being set under heat, placing over the mix a facing of sheet material, compressing the mixbetween the sheet material and metal cap, and subjecting the compressed mix to heat whereby the binder is set up to cement the liner so formed to the facing and to the metal cap.

- 5. The process of lining bottle closures, comprising placing an artificial cork mix in a closure cap, the artificial cork mix containng cork granules and a binder capable of being set under heat, compressing the mix to the uusal degree around the edge of the cap where it is adapted to contact with the bottle mouth, more highly compressing the mix at the central portion of the cap where it is adapted to register with the bottle opening, and applying heat to the compressed mix to set the binder therein and form a permanently compressed artificial cork liner.

6. Apparatus for lining bottle closures comprising means for supporting a metal closure cap, artificial cork mix containing granulated cork and a binder capable of being set under heat, means for applying a facing of sheet material pver the mix said facing applying meansbelng adapted for pressing the facing and mix into the cap to form an artificial cork liner, and means for applying heat to the mix to set the binder and cement the liner to the cap and facing to the liner. Y

The process of lining bottle closures means for supplying to the cap an llb comprising placing in a metal closure capan artificial cork mix containing cork granules and a glycerine-gelatine formaldehydecoagulant binder which is capable of rapidly setting under heat, compresslng the cork mix in the cap to form a liner therein, and aplying heat at a temperature of about 400 ahrenheit for not over about one minute, whereby a permanently compressed artificial i cork liner is quickly formed in situ in the metal cap and cemented thereto by the heathardened binder.

8. A bottle closure, comprising a metal cap and a liner of resilient compressed artificial cork formed therein, having a more high compressed central portion adapted to register with the opening in a bottle mouth.

9. A bottle closure, comprising a metal cap and a liner of compressed artificial cork having annular ridge of material of the usual compression adapted to contact with the'lip of a bottle when the closure is applied, and a central area of more highly compressed material. 5 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HERMAN F. BUSCH. 

